


Cold Feelings

by crimsinsky



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter AU - Fandom
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Feel-good, Fluff, Sickfic, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:02:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25601791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsinsky/pseuds/crimsinsky
Summary: Hermione Granger has gotten herself sick. With her best friends new parents, she's alone and toughing it out at work. Too bad there isn't anyone around who could possibly take care of her (Wink Wink)
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 4
Kudos: 148





	Cold Feelings

**Author's Note:**

> *I don't own anything in the Harry Potterverse and will not make any money from this. Please don't sue me.*

Ugh. The pain woke Hermione from what she thought was a sound sleep.

She lay in bed willing the not quite cramping pains to go away and then the nausea hit. Somehow she walked herself into the bathroom at the first feeling of it. Shortly thereafter she was sick.

It wasn’t a shock, the flu was winding its way through the ministry and it was getting everyone. Her assistant had it a few days prior. She hadn’t come into the office, but by the time she was sick she’d already passed it on.

Somehow Hermione was hot and cold at once. She pulled a towel off the rack and wrapped it around herself as a makeshift blanket.

Crooks kept a protective eye on her, choosing to remain at a safe distance in her room.

She wished she had a hair tie.

This was absolutely miserable.

Closing her eyes, she tried to breathe through the nausea until it passed.

Suddenly there were hands in her hair spinning it behind her head into a messy scrunchie bun.

She murmured “thanks” without opening her eyes.

When the next wave hit her, he was there rubbing her back. Just the touch of his hand on her skin was an overwhelming relief. It didn’t fix a thing, but it was nice.

Resting against the wall, Hermione caught sight of her husband leaving the bathroom.

Even in the dark of their bedroom, she could see his gleaming blond hair like a beacon.

The slightly delirious thought of his head turning into a whirling cartoon lighthouse with a horn made her giggle.

Yeah, she was definitely not up to working today.

Draco returned with a small container of potions they’d stacked up on when the second department at the ministry started getting sick.

He handed her a series of phials and she immediately felt some relief, but she knew even with magic she was going to feel it today.

Draco did a spell to constantly monitor her temperature, a nifty spell he’d picked up from Ginny when they’d babysat Lillian and Teddy. A little orb floated above her and if it was normal would be a faint grey mist. Once the body temperature rose above normal it turned pink. Anything over 100 and it glowed an angry red and displayed the degrees. Currently Pink, Hermione felt she wasn’t in any danger.

He cast a cushioning spell on the floor. Despite the aches and chills Hermione now felt like she was resting on a pillow.

It felt like an hour when Hermione finally felt well enough to clean herself up and go back to bed.

She slept for hours and woke up stiff and aching.

On the bedside table, was tea and crackers.

If she wasn’t so miserable and sick, she could have kissed him. Draco was honestly the best husband in the world.

She struggled to keep down the tea and picked at the crackers. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Terrible.”

Draco frowned, “Try and finish up your tea, I’ll be back in a minute.”

When he returned, he scooped her out of bed and carried her to the bathroom.

Pulling off her pajamas he settled her into a bath for her to soak. It smelled of vanilla and something warm. The bath was just warm enough to be relaxing but if her temperature rose it would quickly cool down. That was not her favorite part but soaking in the tub made her muscles relax, she could deal with the cold.

At this point with the body chills and warm spells, she couldn’t tell if it was the tub fluctuating temperature or not.

She decided to get out when she kept nodding off in the tub.

Draco charmed her towels and robe to stay warm and dry.

Grabbing new pajamas, she settled into bed for more rest.

“Would you read to me?”

“Of course,” he pulled a book from the shelf that now contained a mix of both of their favorites.

Draco settled in next to her on the bed and tried to pull her close.

“No, you’ll get sick,” Hermione struggled to keep her distance.

“Hermione, I’m probably already sick. Everyone in the ministry’s got this damn flu and we’re sleeping in the same bed. You just got a head start on me because you’re an overachiever.”

She did have enough strength to lightly slap his chest but let herself be swayed and let him cuddle her. It felt nice and safe.

Draco cracked open one of her favorite novels, that she’d read countless times and even sick could probably recite at least half of it without prompting. She let the familiar drawl of his voice and the words wash over her and she drifted off to sleep.

Hermione slept most of the day and night.

At some point, she was lucid enough to feel a kiss pressed into the top of her head and feeling tucked in before Draco left the bed.

She desperately loved him.

Despite the aches and chills which now dulled to manageable, she felt safe and comfortable.

She couldn’t have asked for more.

She knew that in a day or two their roles would be reversed. Unlike her who needed a warm bath and to be left alone to get through it, Draco would want the soup his mother used to make him when he was a child. The only thing Narcissa Malfoy had ever learned to cook.

She fell asleep remembering her bad luck which turned out to be the very thing that had brought them together in the first place.

_2 years earlier_

Hermione worked too hard and too late and sometimes her body failed what her mind tried to achieve.

In short, she had gotten herself sick. It didn’t happen often, she ate well and exercised, but when it did, it was rough.

Hermione sat at her desk coughing and sniffling. Her nose was raw and no amount of charms could soothe it, nor her aching throat.

It had been a rough morning and she was so late she hadn’t even had a chance to grab cough drops. 

She shouldn’t have come in today, but she had wanted to finish up a few things, and then she could rest all weekend without it on her mind. She just had to get through today.

Her fuzzy brain drifted off to Ginny and Harry. She wasn’t exactly jealous, but still a bit envious of what the two had. Someone to comfort you when you were down or ill, someone to lift you up when things were good.

Ginny had recently given birth to their first child, the beautiful Lillian Prudence Potter, and all the while Gin told Hermione often about how great Harry was. Ginny had been incredibly ill at the start and Harry would drop everything to make her comfortable or just be with her when she was unwell.

It made Hermione feel a touch lonesome. All she had was Crooks and while a good companion he wasn’t a substitute for a partner.

She shook herself out of her pity party and tried to focus on the documents in front of her. The longer she drifted the longer until she could go home.

She was Hermione Granger, she could finish this stupid assignment, it was just a simple cold.

There was a quick knock on her door, Draco Malfoy came through, shuffling some papers. “Granger do you have the-” He stopped short when he saw her.

Exactly what she needed was for Draco to see her like this. They were friendly now but she could hear the taunts coming for months.

“Granger should you really be in today, you don’t look well,” he asked cautiously.

That angered her, and really how DARE he come in looking like a model when she felt she looked like a troll.

“I’m fine Malfoy, thank you for your concern.” At that moment she began another bought of coughing. 

Instantly Draco was across the small room, with the back of his hand on her forehead, normally she would have swatted him away and told him to go back to his own office, but she hadn’t the strength or the care to do so today.

She really must be sick.

“Jeeze Granger you’re burning up.”

Draco waved his wand at her, Hermione didn’t even have enough care in her to flinch which was her normal reaction to anyone pointing their wand at her, a leftover from the war. “You are leaving now.”

“How bad?”

“101.5 grab your purse and coat.”

“I need to finish these,” she gestured at the papers on her desk.

“I can finish it,” he said irritably, “you need to go to bed.”

“But-” she started coughing again.

“If you don’t agree to go home right now I will go over your head and have you sent home.”

When the coughing ceased she was able to reply, “Going to our boss is a bit childish Malfoy.”

“I didn’t say Miller, Potter is still in the building today.”

Hermione thought of the lecture she would get. Harry had already turned into quite a father, which apparently extended to her, he already acted like her older brother half the time as it was.

“And if that doesn’t do it, I’m sure there’s a slew of gingers who I can entice to force you home.”

And that was the absolute last thing she wanted to deal with right now.

“Fine,” she whined indignantly. She grabbed her bag and jacket, it took her so long to compose herself that Malfoy was returning with his own jacket and briefcase.

“What are you doing? She asked.

“Granger, you look like hell, I don’t know how you’re even standing up right now. I am not letting you walk all the way back to your flat like this.”

The last thing she wanted to do was splinch herself trying to get home.

“Alright,” she conceded.

Draco was concerned about her, she hardly gave any fight at all and that enough was worrisome.

They walked out of the ministry without much notice. Draco apparated them to the closest point near her flat. Once out on the street, Draco had to take her arm to keep her from getting jostled by the crowd.

“Do you think you should go to Mungos?” Draco asked her.

“No, it’s just a cold.”

Thankfully, Draco had worked with her a few times at her flat so she let him guide her home.

It seemed to take hours to get home, but they finally arrived.

“Thank you, Draco for getting me home. I’m sorry for the trouble.” Hermione expected him to be annoyed or smug.

“It’s no trouble,” he said softly, “but next time you’re sick just Owl in. I know I’m not as perfect as you but I can manage for one afternoon alone.”

She nodded.

“I think I’ll just take a nap for now. Goodbye Draco.”

“Goodnight Granger.”

Hermione didn’t even wait for him to leave and she was already in her pajamas and in bed. She heard the door close softly at some point and promptly passed out in bed.

Hermione’s head was pounding, she tried to float back into unconsciousness but her chest erupted ripping painful coughs from her lungs.

Just as suddenly something was wrapped around her holding her up.

“Drink this,” Draco held a phial to her lips.

She did as instructed and within a few seconds the coughing ebbed away and she could breathe again.

Her headache lessened letting her think clearly.

“Draco, you’re here?” she croaked out.

“Don’t you remember what happened?”

“Of course I do,” she held her hand to her throat which was now much sorer than it had been that morning. “I thought you went back to work.”

“You’ll find Granger that you can do most of our job outside of the office,” now he was being smug. “When you aren’t completely ill that is.”

He waved his wand at her again, “100.6 better but not good enough.”

Leaving the room he returned with a tray of food. “The soup is a little extra salty it should help with your throat, there’s also toast, tea, and crackers. I know you take it with milk and sugar but I wasn’t sure if you add anything else if you don’t feel well.”

She was in the actual Twilight Zone.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, “this is great actually.”

She sipped on the soup, it stung her throat on the way down but it did make the hoarseness better. 

There was a crack and Hermione assumed that Draco had left. It was awfully sweet of him to stay with her as long as he had.

Just then he stepped through her bedroom door.

“When you’re finished you should drink this,” he held up another phial of clear liquid.

“You’re still here?” She hoped she didn’t sound as pleased as she felt.

He rolled his eyes as he always did when she exasperated him. “Of course I’m still here Granger, I’m not going to abandon you when you’re this sick.”

“I- I just heard a crack and thought-“

“That was Mimsy, she’s one of the paid elves who work at the Manor. I asked her to get a couple of these from the apothecary. It’s much stronger than anything else for curing severe colds and lung problems.”

“You shouldn’t have gone to all the trouble. Please tell her thank you for me.”

His face seemed a little brighter, “Granger it’s really no trouble,” he handed her the phial.

She uncorked it and sniffed it and looked up at him, “It smells like root beer.” Hermione downed it without further thought, if she could get rid of this stupid cold she’d do anything.

“Basically so children will take it with less complaining. You should be back to normal sometime tomorrow.”

Hermione was not good at sitting still. She needed something to do.

She laid back and sipped her tea. “I feel weird with you sitting out there alone, do you want to come in here and chat for a while?”

It dawned on her a little too late that Draco Malfoy would be hanging out with her, in her bedroom. Her cheeks reddened but she could easily blame her illness for that. _Right_?

“Sure, Granger.” He went out for his own tea and brought it back with him, taking a chair across the room near her bookshelves.

“Just so you know, I wasn’t alone.” He studied her books as they sat there.

Hermione puzzled over the words wondering who he would have let into her home when the proud jingle of a rather large orange fluff ball strode into the room and took up residence on the arm of Draco’s chair.

She watched the pair of them. Both were moody and proud as hell, no wonder they got along.

“Traitor. I’m sick you should be over here taking care of me.”

Crooks regarded Hermione before hopping onto the back of the chair.

“Arse.”

Draco laughed, “It’s probably because I fed him.”

“How long was I asleep?”

“A few hours.”

“What else did you get up to?”

“I finalized those documents you were not working on at the office. However, I will not return them to you until you are well.”

Hermione scowled but said nothing. She couldn’t have written a lunch order at the moment let alone sort through a legal document. 

“And I messaged Potter so he stays away from you for the weekend at least.”

“You messaged Harry?”

“I did, with the baby so young she can’t be near sickness. I didn’t want him showing up and bringing it back home.”

Before Draco had brought her home, Hermione had thought about asking Harry to pop by with some soup or something like he usually did when she was sick and Ginny couldn’t help her.

“That hadn’t even occurred to me. I would have felt terrible if something happened to Lily.”

“Granger you know,” Draco said softly, “you are allowed to worry about yourself from time to time.”

“I don’t do that well.”

“I can tell.”

Turning the focus off of herself, “So did you solve all the world’s problems as well?” She said playfully.

“No, I had to stop to make the soup and tea.”

“Well, my apologies to the world at large,” she was starting to feel a little bit loopy from the potions.

“Would you mind answering a question?”

“It really depends on what you ask me.”

“You drank both of the potions I gave you without question why?”

Hermione didn’t quite understand the question. She shrugged as if it were obvious, “You told me to.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Draco said seriously.

“I’m sick, I’m going to need you to dumb that down for me.”

“What I mean is it could have been anything, it could have been poison for all you knew.”

“Was it?” There was some piece her brain was too addled to grasp right now.

“No.” He paused, “But I used to be a death eater. You just drank them.”

“Well,” she began slowly trying to put it together in her mind coherently. “I guess it’s because I don’t think of you that way. You pester me but you aren’t malicious. I don’t think you’d do anything intentionally to harm me.”

“I wouldn’t. Not ever again.”

The look on his face was something like awe or reverence.

Then Crookshanks broke the moment by smacking Draco in the face with his voluminous tail.

“So uh,” he shifted nervously, “what’s that big box in the other room?”

“The thin black one?”

“Yes, what’s it do?”

Hermione sat up and reached into her bedside table pulling out a small black box.

“I’m about to change your whole outlook on life.” Pressing a few buttons the picture frame Draco hadn’t noticed lit up.

“This Malfoy is a television.”

He made a face.

“What?” She asked.

“You called me Draco before.”

“Did I? I hadn’t noticed.”

“It sounded nice.”

“Are you going to start calling me Hermione?”

“I don’t know, you’ve always been Granger.”

“Well, give it a shot _Draco_ ,” she said with emphasis on his name. 

He grinned, “Explain the box, _Hermione_.”

She laughed and did just that.

Hermione woke the next morning feeling much better.

She stretched and got out of bed, there was a faint noise coming from the living room.

Draco had left her TV on and was now in the kitchen making breakfast.

Definitely the Twilight Zone, but this dimension didn’t feel so bad. Maybe she’d stay, after making sure that her friends were all still normal. 

“What are you doing up?” Draco snapped when he saw her.

Hermione wondered why he was so angry; she hoped he was going to turn back to that old Draco no one missed. “I didn’t know you were still here.”

“I told you I wasn’t going to leave you while you were still ill.”

Hermione smiled at him.

“Be that as it may, I am not a child and if I want to get up I will do just that.”

“Thank Merlin, you’re back to normal. I really thought for a while I was going to have to take you to Mungos and I had no idea how I would explain that in any way that wasn’t suspicious.”

Hermione scowled and crossed her arms across her chest.

“It’s a cold, how would that be suspicious.”

“You haven’t been in my shoes. It would somehow be my fault.”

The idea sent a pain through Hermione’s heart. Sure Draco Malfoy was generally a pest and more often than not a bit of an ass, but she’d seen him the last few years and he was actually a nice guy out from under his father’s thumb.

He checked her temperature once again and she was indeed back to normal.

Handing her a plate of food they sat on the couch and ate and watched TV. Crooks demanded quite a bit of attention from both of them. 

Late in the day Draco finally left and went home, only to return that night with take out. And again the next morning. He really had used the checking on her excuse to death but Hermione couldn’t find it within herself to care. He’d been far beyond nice. He’d been considerate, sweet, kind. He sadly had plans with his mother Sunday night so he couldn’t stay, but he’d made sure she had plenty of food for dinner. 

Hermione never in a million years would have thought she wouldn’t have minded being sick.

She was ready for Monday to be uncomfortable but it wasn’t.

Malfoy greeted her with a to-go cup of tea and asked for some information he had been trying to ask for on Friday.

The tea wasn’t as good as what he had prepared for her all weekend. The thought made her stomach buzz.

At the end of the day, she remembered that Draco still had her papers from Friday.

She went into his office, “Malfoy, I need my files back if you don’t mind.”

He frowned at her, “What happened to Draco?”

She blushed and she was sure this time she could not blame her cold, “I wasn’t sure how long you wanted to extend it.”

“I told you I like hearing you say my actual name.”

“Fine, Draco give me my papers please,” she sarcastically replied. 

“Still nice, though the delivery could use a little work.”

She laughed and he handed her the papers he had taken.

“You’ll see they’re all in order.”

“Thank you. I mean it. For everything. This weekend would have been terrible, I don’t know if I’d be here now if you hadn’t gotten me that medicine it’s seriously a miracle.”

“Any time Gr-Hermione.”

“As sweet as that is, I hope to pass on that offer for a long time to come, thank you.”

She turned to go.

“Hermione,” he said and she paused. “Why do you keep apologizing for being sick?”

It felt a little like a slap to her senses.

She didn’t really want to say why because that information was hers, but he had earned a bit more trust this weekend.

“I love my parents a lot, but they worked really important healer kind of jobs so if I got sick they couldn’t easily take the day off work. They had patients who they couldn’t cancel on. They wanted me to push through and go to school if I could but if they had to stay home I always felt bad because they had to reschedule all of their patients.”

“Granger, you really need to take care of yourself. Think how lost Potter would be without you. Think about me?”

“You?” her heart thudded.

“Yeah,” he looked like he hadn’t meant to say the last bit, “if you weren’t here all your work would end up on me.” He was lying

“Are you sure that’s the only reason Malfoy?” she approached him.

He stood as she neared his desk, “There are some other reasons that come to mind.”

“Really?”

Neither knew how it happened or who started it.

Draco leaned down and gently captured her lips with his own. Hermione was already drowning in him.

Someone knocked on the door and they instinctively sprang apart like two teenagers.

She went back to her office as she watched him get dragged away by Miller.

An hour after she should have stopped working Draco and Miller still weren’t back.

She’d have to talk to him tomorrow about what just happened.

He didn’t show up for work the next day.

Hermione felt terrible. She knew he was avoiding her.

They had the start of at the very least a good friendship going and she had gone and pushed it too far.

It was going to be awkward as hell now working together.

She couldn’t focus on her work at all, luckily nothing was urgent.

As she contemplated having to transfer departments to avoid embarrassment, a large eagle owl swooped on to the window ledge and tapped the glass.

She let it in and took the note. After years of working with him, she knew that distinct handwriting but it was a little off.

It was him telling her to forget about it or he was transferring.

Hermione took a breath and broke the silver monogrammed seal.

_“Granger, you got me sick. I don’t know how you even thought of coming into work like this. I should be back tomorrow or the next day. But you owe me. How about dinner next week when I’m fully well?”_

He wasn’t avoiding her, he was sick. She felt a twinge of guilt about that.

Hermione smiled at the note and a warm feeling washed over her.

She mused to herself, there really was no reason she had to be IN the office today and her tasks could all easily be done at home. If not elsewhere.

Hermione collected her things and told Miller she was still feeling a bit off but would be doing her work from home for the rest of the day.

She walked out of the ministry and stopped at the apothecary, right before flooing over to Malfoy’s flat.

**Author's Note:**

> Lillian Prudence- Prudence for a play on Molly’s maiden name Prewett
> 
> I’ve been sick and super whiney and I don’t have a nice guy to take care of me.


End file.
